Holy Spirit raises money for grad's heart transplant

Wednesday

Nov 14, 2012 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | Holy Spirit Catholic School was bathed in a sea of red clothing Tuesday from the elementary school to the high school.

By Jamon SmithStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Holy Spirit Catholic School was bathed in a sea of red clothing Tuesday from the elementary school to the high school.The departure from the school's normal uniforms was due to “Red for Reyes,” a day created by two Holy Spirit High School students this month that called for everyone at the school to donate $2 and wear red in support of former Holy Spirit High School student Adrian Reyes, who graduated last year.“I didn't know him personally, but I heard his name a lot at school,” said Leah Clark and Kiersten Schellhammer, both 15-year-old sophomores at Holy Spirit, who created “Red for Reyes.”“You don't have to know someone at Holy Spirit to have a connection to them,” she said. “I was shocked when I learned what happened to him. You don't think that something like that can happen to someone.”Reyes was born with a connective tissue disorder called Marfan syndrome that has caused his arms and legs to be overgrown and a number of other issues such as an enlarged aorta.Reyes' large size earned him the nickname “Big Guy” at school and made him a prime candidate for the basketball and football teams, which were sports that he loved. But Marfan syndrome caused health complications, and that made it too difficult for him to continue playing past his freshman year. Instead, he became the equipment manager and waterboy for the school's sports teams. His friend Rohit Fonseca, 16, said Reyes relished those jobs.

“He always said something to lift you up,” said Fonseca, a junior football and basketball player at Holy Spirit. “He's just an all-around nice kid.”Living with Marfan syndrome and not being able to play sports haven't been the only things that Reyes, 19, faced. Last year during his senior year, he was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that causes the immune system to attack tissues and organs.Lupus affects everyone differently and for Reyes, it first attacked his gallbladder. Experiencing sharp pains in his side, he underwent seven surgeries in February to have his gallbladder and several hernias removed. But his problems didn't end there.During spring break, he nearly drowned. He was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico in Destin, Fla., when he was caught in a riptide while having a heart attack. He was rescued by a lifeguard and was told by emergency room doctors to visit a cardiologist when he returned to Tuscaloosa.Reyes said his cardiologist told him that he didn't know how he could have survived a riptide, heart attack and drowning.“He said that I was a miracle,” Reyes said Tuesday at Pepitos Mexican Restaurant in Northport, where he works. “I didn't want to accept that I was a miracle. I'm nothing more than a regular person.”After his surgery, Reyes said he fell into a deep depression that caused him to miss his high school graduation and skip celebrating his birthday, both of which were May 20.Then in September, he had sharp cramp-like pains in his heart and was rushed to DCH Regional Medical Center. The doctors examined him for five days and witnessed his heart rate drop to 20 beats per minute — 60 to 100 beats per minute is normal for an adult. But they didn't know what was wrong with him.“I hadn't told my mom how much pain I had been experiencing until I had to go to the hospital,” he said. “I didn't want to tell her that my cardiologist had told me after my heart attack that I needed heart surgery. I didn't tell her because the cheapest heart transplant cost $300,000. Our insurance had already taken a hit and they dropped us.”According to transplantliving.com, the average heart transplant in the U.S. as of 2011 cost $997,700.Reyes said he doesn't know how he and his family are going to pay for his heart surgery, but that he's not worrying about it.“Personally, it sucks to have all this happen,” he said. “But I know so many other people who have it worse. They can't walk, write or see. I've had a lot of help from my family, friends and people from Holy Spirit. What's more important is to give rather than receive. I've focused on helping others, and I think people should focus more on helping others, too.“People are focusing too much, especially with Christmas around the corner, on getting things and have lost their values,” he said. “I'd rather see someone smile than do something to make me smile. There's people out here with nothing.”During his time at Holy Spirit, Reyes was on the school's “God Squad,” which along with Catholic Social Services, gave people money, food and coats and cleaned up tornado-damaged homes. Reyes said he also frequently visits his parents' home country of Mexico and helped the homeless there.He said he grew up in Pepitos, which is owned by his godfather, and that he would like to own a Mexican restaurant one day. It's the reason he was about to start school at Shelton State Community College for business in the spring, but he put his education on hold because of his health.He said he knows his dreams may not come true.“My parents came to Tuscaloosa from Mexico and worked hard to get what we have,” he said. “I believe in hard work and I want my own restaurant one day, as well as a wife and kids. But I see my life going down one of two paths right now. Either I make it and get all that I've dreamed of, or I don't make it. If I don't make it, I hope that someone learns from my life.“If I don't make it, I want people to not judge others based on how they look or their circumstances,” he said. “I've walked the streets of Mexico and given the homeless everything I had. I did it because I believe no one should be turned away. It's what God wants us to do. We don't know if one of these people is an angel.”Reyes said he's asked God why is he being punished, especially since he's only wanted to help people. He said his grandmother told him that “God always has a plan, even if we don't understand it.”Reyes didn't know about the “Red for Reyes” day until he saw it posted on Facebook.“I was really surprised and didn't expect it,” he said. “I started crying when I found out about this. I don't think I'm that important. They're raising money to help pay for my heart surgery, but I wish they'd use the money to help people for Thanksgiving. I'm not used to anyone giving me anything.”Sister Ellen McCarthy, a nun and teacher at Holy Spirit, said Reyes is a part of the Holy Spirit family and that helping him wasn't a choice.“When there's a person in need, you help,” she said. “That's sort of our mission statement.”Clark and Schellhammer said they were hoping to raise between $100 and $200 with the $2 “Red for Reyes” fundraiser, but by noon Tuesday they had raised more than $1,000.“I never expected to raise this much money,” Schellhammer said. “How much everyone raised is beyond expectations.”Looking at a cafeteria filled with elementary and middle school students, lunch ladies and teachers all wearing red, Clark said she was overwhelmed by the response.“One girl gave $40 and another student just gave me a wad of money,” Clark said. “It's pretty amazing having a lot of people who didn't know him personally still help out.”